'Rampage' Jackson to appear on TNA, four-part reality show and movies in works

'Rampage' Jackson to appear on TNA, four-part reality show and movies in works

Quinton Jackson (32-11 MMA, 0-0 BFC) should be plenty busy in the next few years if all goes as planned in his new deal with Bellator, Spike TV and TNA Wrestling.

Along with executives from the fight and media companies, the ex-UFC champ gave a press conference Wednesday in Los Angeles to discuss details of the next chapter in his career.

Already, “Rampage” said he’s a happier man.

“In the past, the issues I had with promoters, I just sometimes felt like I wasn’t appreciated,” Jackson told Spike President Kevin Kay and Bellator chief Bjorn Rebney, who sat beside him at a conference table. “You guys get it.”

“It makes me think that all the hard work and the things I did to my body in the past are all paying off now,” he added. “I lost a lot of love for MMA … back when I was in the UFC. Honestly, they just killed it. They drained it. But this new deal has got me so excited, and has instantly brought the love back. I’m happy to be part of the team.”

As a UFC fighter, Jackson said he would retire from fighting by age 35. As a Bellator fighter, wrestler and actor, he’s pushed back his timetable.

“Now, with what we’re talking about, I’ve got at least four or five more years in me,” he said.

Jackson, who turns 35 later this month, made his first public appearance since his last appearance in the octagon at UFC on FOX 6, where he lost a decision to Glover Teixeira on the event’s FOX-televised main-card.

Explaining the three losses that marked the end of his UFC career, Jackson said injuries and a waning desire to fight for the promotion sapped his ability to fight at his best. He repeatedly criticized his former employer, as he had done months prior to his departure.

He pointed to his role in the feature-film remake of “The A-Team” as the turning point in a relationship that badly soured. After becoming a free agent, he negotiated with Bellator over the course of several months before signing, according to Rebney.

In jumping ship, Jackson ventured that others would follow.

“A lot of fans may criticize me for leaving the UFC because they say that’s where the best fighters are, and there’s not a lot of competition in Bellator yet,” he said. “But it’s ignorance. They don’t know that the deal they gave me is so sweet.”

New-car sweet, he added.

“The deal they gave me set me up for the future, and when other fighters really understand this deal they gave me, I think a lot of other fighters that are not happy with their contract in other shows are going to come to Bellator, and the competition is going to come over,” Jackson said.

“[Bellator] doesn’t attack you for your sponsors. They help you get sponsors. They don’t get mad at you for doing movies, they get you movies.”

Work for his new partners starts as soon as Thursday, when he’ll make an appearance on TNA Wrestling, which, like Bellator, airs on Spike TV.

“I always wanted to be a pro wrestler,” Jackson said. “That’s why I started wrestling in high school. That’s why I used to fight the way I used to fight when I was younger. I used to like to slam people and do powerbombs. Now, my dream has come true.”

Regarding his MMA future, Jackson said he needs time to rehabilitate his knees, which have undergone multiple surgeries, before he begins training for a fight. He couldn’t say definitively whether he would compete in Bellator’s Season 9 tourney or in 2014.

He did, however, say he is targeting a move to heavyweight while being open to the right fights at his usual 205-pound class.

“I’m in my prime, but why do something that I don’t have to,” Jackson said. “I think heavyweight will be a good move, because I like the big guys. I think I’ll be faster than them.

“I told Bjorn that when my knees get back close to 100 percent, I’ll fight anybody. I never turned down any fight before in the past.”

Jackson had, in fact, turned down a title fight with Mauricio Rua at UFC 128, but at the press conference, optimism was the mood of the day. “Rampage” even compared his new partnership to the puppy-love phase of a new relationship.

“I had every show come at me,” he said. “I even considered doing boxing. I wasn’t in any rush to go anywhere, so I just let everybody come to me and my manager. But I kept my eye on Bellator, because I dealt with Spike before when I did ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and everybody was super cool. I started watching Bellator, and I thought, ‘I might want to go to Bellator.’ They’re on Spike, it’s a no-brainer.”

As for an entertainment component of the deal, Jackson’s future is wide open. Kay revealed the fighter would be the subject of a four-part reality-television show around his MMA debut. Jackson also met with Paramount to discuss movie ideas, in particular an MMA-themed movie he penned.

“I’ve written, like, two movies, and I like them both a lot,” he said. “People can’t believe the second movie I wrote, I wrote that. This MMA movie that I wrote, it’s a fun MMA movie, and I’m not going to give it away at all. This is an MMA movie from a fighter’s mind.”

Although the press conference was light on specific dates and times, Jackson and executives revealed a variety of information:

* Jackson will appear this weekend at Spike’s “Guys Choice” awards in Hollywood.

* Bellator and TNA are discussing timetables for Jackson’s debuts in the promotions, though the fighter estimated he’d be ready to start training in a few months and said he had been training in Mexico.

TNA President Dixie Carter said Jackson will begin training to become a pro wrestler “right away.” “His training, whether it be at [Ohio Valley Wrestling] or in Southern California, where he’ll be set up as well, he’ll be committed to that and he’ll be in much sooner than later,” she said.

* Jackson said he had spoken about his new deal to Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, who struck a similar one this past year.

“Me and Mo, we’re actually thinking about teaming up and becoming tag-team partners over there at TNA,” he told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). “I think we could change the game up. Me and Mo, we didn’t see eye to eye in the past. I thought I was going to have to put a whuppin’ up on Mo … I ain’t going to lie. But Mo is actually a cool guy, but I can only take him for small periods of time. But we’re tag-team partners. Who knows, we might end up being best friends one day.”

Jackson said his possible partnership wouldn’t preclude a fight with Lawal, who is widely thought to be his most credible opposition.

“Who knows what the future holds? I fought friends before,” Jackson said. “MMA is a job. Sometimes you just want to show you’re the best. Fighters, we’re alphas, and sometimes, you want to see if you’re more alpha than the next guys.”

* Jackson said he’ll end his MMA career with Bellator

* Cheick Kongo, who trains with Jackson at Wolfslair MMA, hasn’t signed with the promotion, though Rebney hinted at a future announcement involving fighters from the camp.

* Bellator events are confirmed for June 19 (Bellator 96), July 31 (Bellator 97), and Sept. 7, which falls on a Saturday.

As his multiple projects ramp up, Jackson said he’s focused on getting healthy.

“My knee is actually getting stronger really fast, because now I’ve learned how to rehab it, and I have a great team of doctors,” he said. “I’m going to start running next week. Well, my birthday’s coming up on the 20th, so I’ll probably start running a couple days after that, and I’m going to check my knee out. Before, when I was running after surgery, it was really bad for the knees. But it looks like it’s doing really good. It’s actually surprising how good it’s doing.”

For more on Bellator’s upcoming schedule, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of the site.